Bechtel Corporation history

In 1904, he moved to Oakland in California and started working in Western Pacific Railroad as a Superintendent.

In the year 1906, he won a contract to construct the railroad between Oakland and Oroville.

In 1919, the company moved on to developing bridges, highways and roads.

In 1919, the company moved on to developing bridges, highways and roads. It also started working on its hydroelectric project in the year 1920.

1921 First job for a large power utility: the Caribou Water Tunnel in Northern California, part of the Caribou Power Plant, which will generate 75 megawatts of electricity

1923 A Family BusinessW. A. Bechtel Co. was a family business from the beginning.

The company was incorporated in 1925.

1929 First pipeline: The 8-mile- (13-kilometer-) long Tres Piños–Milpitas in California begins operation.

Six Companies won the bid in March and construction began in the summer of 1931.

Warren Bechtel did not live to see the project completed, however; he died suddenly in 1933 at age 61.

Stephen Bechtel, one of the founder's three sons, took over the presidency in 1935.

By 1940 McCone secured contracts for the partnership to build ships and tankers, and to modify aircraft for the war effort.

1941 First shipbuilding job: Calship delivers 467 cargo ships and Marinship cranks out 15 Liberty ships and 78 tankers and oilers.

1942 As part of a Department of War–mandated project to shore up United States defenses in Alaska, Bechtel interests begin work on Canol, a 1,430-mile (2,300-kilometer) pipeline across Canada and Alaska.

1943 Bechtel’s first work in the Middle East: Bahrain Petroleum Co. hires BMP to build a refinery capable of producing 150,000 barrels of oil per day.

1945 First major power contract: Equipment changes for Southern California Edison; engineers must convert power equipment operating on a 50-cycle current to a 60-cycle current.

In 1947, Bechtel began construction on what was then the world's longest oil pipeline, the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, which began in Saudi Arabia, ran across Jordan and Syria, and ended in Lebanon.

1949 First nuclear reactor: Near Arco, Idaho, Experimental Breeder Reactor-1 (EBR-1) is the first nuclear reactor to generate electricity from atomic energy.

In 1951 the pioneering company developed the first electricity-generating nuclear power plant, in Arco, Idaho.

1954 Bechtel begins to build three power plants for South Korea, doubling that country’s energy output.

1957 In Illinois, groundbreaking takes place for the Dresden nuclear plant, the largest nuclear power facility in the United States at the time.

1958 Swift Dam, Washington state: a hydroelectric project adds 204,000 kilowatts to the regional power supply

Bechtel also began engineering work on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in 1959.

In 1960 Stephen Bechtel became chairman of the board, and Stephen, Jr., a Stanford Business School graduate and grandson of the founder, stepped into the chief executive officer post.

1961 Chocolate Bayou, Texas: among the largest petrochemical plants ever built.

1962 Athabasca Tar Sands in northern Alberta: the first large-scale operation to recover oil from enormous tar sand deposits.

1968 Bechtel signs on to develop the West Irian copper project on the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea.

1969 Bechtel, as part of a joint venture, begins work on the monumental Churchill Falls hydroelectric project in Labrador.

1971 Bechtel begins work on the Washington, D.C., Metro transit project, which includes 98 miles (158 kilometers) of track.

A 1972 class-action suit alleging sex discrimination at Bechtel was settled out of court for $1.4 million.

In 1976, it becomes the first totally new rapid transit system to be completed in the United States in 40 years and significantly eases traffic.

1977 Algeria’s first LNG plant is dedicated.

A 1978 lawsuit concerning malfunctions at the Palisades nuclear generator in Michigan cost Bechtel $14 million in settlement fees.

In March 1979, the Unit 2 reactor core of the nuclear power station at Three Mile Island (TMI) experienced a partial meltdown that damaged the fuel rods and possibly other internal reactor components.

1982 In New Zealand, Bechtel begins constructing the world’s first commercial facility to convert natural gas to gasoline.

1983 Bechtel provides start-up engineering and construction support for the completion and commercial operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power facility in California.

They ventured into project management and handled the Los Angeles Olympic Games that were held in 1984.

The company also built the Ankara-Gerede Motorway in Turkey as part of the network of roadways linking Europe and Asia in 1986.

1987 Channel Tunnel Completing the ChunnelBechtel gets involved in completing the Channel Tunnel, connecting England and France.

1989 Boston Central Artery In a joint venture with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Bechtel begins construction on the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel project, America’s largest infrastructure job, which includes a freeway beneath Boston and a tunnel beneath Boston Harbor.

1990 Hong Kong Airport Bechtel helps manage the Hong Kong Airport Core Programme—10 projects that include construction of bridges, tunnels, railroads, and an international airport at Chek Lap Kok, and extensive land reclamation.

1991 Extinquishing the Kuwait Oil Fires Extinguishing the Kuwait Oil FiresIn the aftermath of the Gulf War, Bechtel leads the effort to put out 650 oil-well fires and rebuild Kuwait’s oil infrastructure, destroyed by Iraqi troops.

1992 A Bechtel joint venture is selected to provide design, procurement, and construction management services for a Motorola facility in Tianjin, China, that will produce a variety of electronic products and provide office space.

1993 PGT-PG&E Pipeline PGT-PG&E PipelineThe 800-mile (1,287-kilometer) Bechtel-built PGT-PG&E natural gas pipeline expansion is completed.

1994 As part of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, Bechtel helps Russia develop a comprehensive chemical weapons destruction plan.

In 1995 Bechtel became the first United States company to be granted a construction license by the Chinese government.

1996 Bechtel begins work on an $800 million, 440-megawatt power plant in Quezon Province in the Philippines.

After this steady performance, 1997 was perhaps a breakthrough year with revenues surging to $11.33 billion.

In May 1998 the government of Ukraine selected a Bechtel-led consortium to stabilize a concrete shelter covering the damaged Unit 4 reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Among the venture's achievements was the building of a manufacturing complex for Motorola in Tianjin, China, which was due to open in 1999.

2000 Becomes the first engineering and construction company to embrace Six Sigma, a data-driven methodology for improving quality.

In 2001, Bechtel was part of a consortium to project manage the US$4.3 billion construction of the CSPC Nanhai Petrochemicals Complex in China.

2002 Tacoma Narrows Bridge A Bechtel joint venture starts the longest United States suspension bridge in four decades, the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge near Seattle, Washington.

2003 Takes on its largest Sino-foreign joint venture to date: CSPC Nanhai Petrochemicals Complex, China.

Bechtel won a competitively-bid second contract in January 2004, and completed 97 of 99 task orders of the contract, returning the two remaining projects due to the escalating security concerns in the country.

2005 Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts Helping Families Working for the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bechtel provides temporary housing for nearly 100,000 Mississippi residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

In 2007, Bechtel began work on the Romanian A3 motorway (Autostrada Transilvania) and Albanian motorways.

Litigation ensued, and in January 2008, Bechtel settled with federal and state officials for $352 million with other contractors involved paying smaller amounts.

2010 Bechtel forms an alliance with Babcock & Wilcox to commercialize Generation mPower, a small modular reactor development for nuclear power.

2011 First utility-scale photovoltaic project and one of the world’s largest: California Valley Solar Ranch.

Bechtel and the Romanian National Roads Authority jointly agreed on a settlement to end the contract for works on the Autostrada Transilvania in 2013.

2014 Bill Dudley Elected CEO Bill Dudley becomes first non-Bechtel CEO in the company's history.

The project was completed in 2016 on time, within budget and received top industry honors.

2017 Stonewall Energy CenterBechtel, in consortium with Siemens Energy Inc., completes the state-of-the-art, Stonewall Generating Facility, a 778-megwatt plant for Panda Power Funds.

2018 Hummel Combined Cycle Power PlantBechtel completes conversion of a coal power plant into a 1,124MW combined-cycle natural gas facility, powering one million homes in Philadelphia and the New York metropolitan area.

2019 NASA Mobile Launcher 2 Working with United States companies and international partners like Bechtel, NASA will push the boundaries of human exploration.